Mickey 17
A down-on-his-luck man takes a job on a colonial space mission that requires him to die repeatedly in Mickey 17. Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) is a financially destitute man, who has to flee Earth after a failed business venture with his friend Timo (Steven Yeun) makes them the target of a loan shark. Mickey gets onto a spaceship financed by failed politician Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo) and his wife Ylfa (Toni Collette). Mickey’s job on the ship is to work as an Expendable, performing multiple fatal missions, only to be cloned each time he dies.
During the 4 year voyage to the snowbound planet of Niflheim, Mickey finds solace from his dangerous work when he enters into a relationship with security agent Nasha Barridge (Naomi Ackie). One day, the 17th iteration of Mickey is left for dead when he falls into a fissure on the planet’s surface and is subsequently swarmed by Niflheim’s caterpillar-like indigenous creatures nicknamed “Creepers.” However, Mickey 17 miraculously survives his experience in the cave and returns to base, only to find Mickey 18 has already been awakened. As having multiples is a violation of the laws surrounding cloning technology, both Mickeys have to team up to ensure they aren’t permanently eliminated.
Mickey 17 Synopsis
Six years after winning multiple Oscars for 2019’s Parasite, Bong Joon Ho returns for his third English-language feature film Mickey 17, based on the 2023 novel Mickey7 by Edward Ashton. The film stars Robert Pattinson (Tenet, The Batman) as the titular Mickey, who has come to accept the fact that his role in life has been reduced to being repeatedly killed off in multiple dangerous tasks. However, his view on life and death changes when he comes face-to-face with his Multiple Mickey 18, who also happens to be a lot more aggressive than previous iterations.
As multiples are forbidden, the Mickeys find themselves in danger of being eliminated by Kenneth Marshall, played by Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things), a very Trump-like politician, whose conniving wife Ylfa, played by Toni Collette (Juror #2), is perhaps a little too obsessed with culinary sauces. Marshall’s signal-minded plan for colonization is disrupted after discovering that the icy planet of Niflheim is populated by creatures nicknamed Creepers. Despite the apparent benevolence of the Creepers, Marshall sets out to eliminate them and the Mickeys in one fell swoop.
My Thoughts on Mickey 17
Despite an immensely successful career in South Korea, which culminated in 2019’s Parasite winning four Oscars, including Best Picture, Bong Joon Ho has yet to find major success with his English-language films. Arguably his most successful English-language release was his 2013 English-language debut Snowpiercer. Like that film, Mickey 17 was the victim of delays and possible studio interference.
Thematically, Mickey 17 is closer to 2017’s Okja, both in terms of socio-political elements and the use of practically created creatures. A cross between a caterpillar and an elephant, the alien “Creepers” are probably one of the more unconditionally enjoyable elements of Mickey 17. It also makes it more affecting when one of the more violent moments in the film involves the brutal killing of one of the creatures.
Mickey 17 is entirely dependent on the performance(s) by Robert Pattinson and some might be turned off by the “aww shucks” accent he puts on as Mickey. However, this accent allows in the second half of the film to differentiate Mickey 17 from Mickey 18, as Pattinson plays the latter completely differently, with a more normal American accent and a very aggressive attitude. The true breakthrough of Mickey 17 is Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker), whose character of Nasha ends up being the true heart of the film. It was also fun seeing Mark Ruffalo play a very thinly veiled parody of Donald Trump as the antagonist Kenneth Marshall, right down to the character having red-cap-wearing supporters.
As a follow-up to his Oscar-winning success with Parasite, many might see Mickey 17 as a major step down for Bong Joon Ho. However, when the film is viewed as a stand-alone effort, this is still much to take away from Mickey 17. This can be a film that can benefit from repeat viewings and an in-depth analysis.
Trailer for Mickey 17
